The Pathfinder Society

“As to your life and limb, I make you no
promises, novice. Rest assured, you shall
never succumb to boredom and your feats
and exploits will be sung and scripted for the
common folk to marvel. The time to find your
path is at hand.”
—Venture-Captain Alissa Moldreserva



The Pathfinder Society
The Pathfinder Society is an organization of explorers, vagabonds, sages, and treasure hunters determined to plumb the depths of the darkest tombs and collect relics and lore from bygone ages. They travel the world braving traps, monsters, assassins, dangerous natives, and worse, all in order to discover the secrets of the past and to advance understanding of Middle-earth’s many cultures. Some Pathfinders are dedicated explorers who risk life and limb in the pursuit of ancient lore or lost relics. Just as many Pathfinders are little more than feckless mercenaries, glory hound adventurers, and gold-hungry tomb raiders. Regardless of their intentions, every member shares one common dream: to contribute to the Pathfinder Chronicles, printed editions of lore coveted by the Society wherein only the most impressive finds and bravest exploits of the Pathfinders are immortalized. Pathfinders also follow a loose code that governs their actions: Explore, Report, and Cooperate.


Membership?
In the ranks of the Pathfinder Society, you serve as a loyal member, seeking fortune and glory all over the face of Middle-earth. At the same time, you can choose to work for one of the five competing nation-based factions (all with their own motivations and secret agendas. See at the bottom of this post for more information).


The Pathfinder Society on Middle-earth
The Pathfinder Society has existed since the death of the last ruler 100 years ago. Its history, fraught with the daring exploits of brave heroes, has long enchanted the populace of the capitol Siria. Members include treasure hunters, explorers, tomb raiders, historians, vagabonds and even knights who roam the farthest reaches of the world seeking lost relics of world-shattering power and answers to riddles older than the gods.

These heroes brave vine-choked jungle ruins, ascend snow-capped peaks, and comb sun-seared desert sands in search of buried tombs and monuments of bygone ages. Upon the completion of a particularly notable discovery or journey, society members send a record of their exploits to their venture-captain superior, who in turn reviews it for accuracy before forwarding the manuscript to the masked leaders of the Pathfinder Society, the cryptic Decemvirate, an inner circle of 10 experienced Pathfinders who guide the Society’s activities. This guidance is quite subtle, allowing individual Pathfinder agents to believe they act of their own accord when they are actually doing the bidding of the Ten. The Society recognizes no formal bylaws, but adherence to a general code of behavior is expected of all members, and reports of activity in contrast to this code are grounds for removal from the organization. The three most important member duties are as follows:

Explore: Pathfinders are expected to further the knowledge and reputation of the Society by traveling to distant lands, unearthing forbidden secrets, and piecing together the secret history of the world. Agents are encouraged to travel uncharted lands in search of evermore-fantastic mysteries.

Report: In the course of their adventures, Pathfinders are expected to keep detailed journals, maps, and accounts of their exploits. At the conclusion of a successful mission, the agent sends a copy of his notes to his immediate superior, a regional venture-captain, who makes a full analysis (often involving divination). Especially noteworthy exploits make their way to Siria and the Decemvirate, who compile the best tales into irregularly published editions of the Pathfinder Chronicles, which make their way back to venture-captains for distribution to Pathfinder agents in the field.

Cooperate: The Society places no moral obligations upon its members, so agents span all races, creeds, and motivations. At any given time, within a Pathfinder lodge, Pathfinder agents may  have different opinions. They are expected to respect one another’s claims and stay out of each other’s affairs unless offering a helping hand.


We know that a pathfinder's loyalties are often
split between the Society and the nation that
birthed them. We ask only that you endeavor to
keep your interests in discovery and exploration
ahead of your country's interests.
—Venture Captain Alissa Moldreserva


The Pathfinder Lodge
Most Pathfinders wander the world in search of riches and adventure, settling down only long enough to plan their next journey or fully exploit an ancient ruin of its treasure and secrets. But another class of Pathfinder exists, a group unknown to the populace at large yet integral to the success of the organization. These are the venture-captains who manage regional affairs and their at-times-considerable cadres of cohorts, retainers, menials, and guardians. Venturecaptains generally station themselves in Pathfinder lodges, unassuming locales meant to house the paperwork, plans, and infrastructure of the society while also occasionally serving as temporary residences for wandering Pathfinder agents. The Grand Lodge of Siria stands alone among its fellows. Unlike lesser chapter houses in towns throughout the continent, which often mask their purpose behind facades of commerce or domesticity, the Grand Lodge wears its affliation proudly. The Glyph of the Open Road, so often hidden in a map’s compass rose or a book’s embellishment to show the covert approval of the Pathfinder Society, blazes above the gate of a sheer-walled redoubt at the heart of Siria. The wall circles seven sturdy fortresses that date back to the city’s founding, perhaps the estate of a long-dormant noble house or the one-time bastion of a forgotten government. For the last 100 years this has been the stronghold of the Pathfinders, the seat of the Decemvirate, and the legendary repository of the order’s treasures and legends.




The Pathfinder Chronicles
Lesser scholars and tomb-robbers unaffliated with the Pathfinder Society are crass villains who contribute nothing to the greater understanding of the world, selling off their treasures without bothering to record the stories behind them or further understanding of lost races, cultures, and times. This is what sets the Pathfinders apart. The Chronicles, gathered for over a century of daring work, records the Society’s exploits and shares them with the entire organization. Most volumes come packed with maps, trap diagrams, and detailed explanations leading to highly profitable and extraordinarily fragile locales. Common treasure-hunters, bizarre cultists, and wealthy artifact collectors do their best to acquire copies of the journals, and a multi-volume set can often fetch thousands of gold pieces in the right markets. It is the burning dream of every Pathfinder to someday see their own exploits immortalized in the ultra-exclusive pages of the Pathfinder Chronicles.


The Pathfinder Factions
At present, five shadowy, nation-based factions struggle for secret and subtle dominance of Siria – Andoran, Cheliax, Osirion, Qadira, and Taldor. These ancient and powerful nations have long been major players in Siria’s affairs, each waxing and waning with the sands of time. After the queens death 100 years ago, the factions each tore a piece of the land and kept it as their own. Now, a century later, they find themselves on equal footing compared to the other factions throughout Middle-earth.

In Siria, each faction have their own noble houses/districts. Each poise to seize control of the city through political and economic maneuvering. The absense of a King and Queen has left leadership somewhat vulnereable. The different houses have their own unique reasons for wanting to control Siria, but they all share one goal in common: they hope to one day turn this secret war into open and total control over one of the Outer Sea’s most strategically located mercantile metropolis.

The factions of Siria have long despised one another. History is fraught with their bloody feuds, brutal wars, and oppressions. At the end of a season, one faction shall stand higher than the others, their talons sunk deep into Siria’s affairs reaping grand rewards. With each new season, though, come new opportunities.


Missions and prestige
You do honor to your faction by succeeding in specific missions. Each scenario contains one or more missions dedicated to your specific faction, all tasks that, if completed, give your faction a small advantage in their shadow war against the other four. During a scenario, your faction might ask you to make sure a crime lord dies, protect an innocent merchant caught in crossfire, save a kidnapped child, hand off an important letter, foil an assassination, or locate a letter of marque.

Metagamingly speaking
Whatever the mission, a positive outcome earns you and your faction one point of Prestige Award. Every Pathfinder Society Scenario offers the same potential amount of PA to each faction. It’s up to you to make sure your faction scores higher than its competitors. As your Prestige Award total increases, your faction rewards your excellent service with ever-increasing boons. Each faction presents an expanded list of items, abilities, and services your Pathfinders gains access to as his or her PA increases. These items are rewards from your faction for your loyalty and hard work and reflect your growing influence within your own faction. All of these items are outside of the normal list of items available for purchase.

Factions and Your Fellow Pathfinders
Every individual in Pathfinder Society Play is a Pathfinder first, and a member of their faction second. At no point should you betray, harass, or murder another Pathfinder in order to accomplish your missions. The Society has designded missions for you to NEVER involve direct conflict with another faction’s Pathfinders. Pathfinders are pawns in a massive shadow war, and escalating to a hot war is not in the best interest for any faction. Play it cool, do your best to accomplish your missions subtly, and do not attempt to derail the efforts of fellow Pathfinders, as this is more likely to see you booted out of the Society more than it will aid your faction. The long term plans of your faction are clouded in obfuscation and mystery. If you are kicked out of the Society for interfering in another Pathfinder’s activities or worse, for killing them, you will be of no further use, and the damage you may have caused them by your brash actions far outweighs any boon. Remember the shadow war your faction fights is one of intrigue, not only of flashing blades and killing spells.

Choosing Your Faction
Every Faction has its own unique history, culture, style and specialty. They represent each own country throughout of Middle-earth, but they have their own district within Siria. Each has its own operations in the ongoing shadow war for control of Siria, and each offers Pathfinders in their service different boons. Choosing your Faction is as important as choosing your character class or race— it defines who you are in Middle-earth, and ties your Pathfinder to one particular nation’s destiny.